Steel Eyed Hero
by Paragon of Awesomeness
Summary: Having somehow been reincarnated into a new life, yet retaining his memories of the old, a simple bowman begins his quest to become a hero anew. And the world he has been reborn into truly is in need of a hero...
1. Chapter 1: Save The Damned

**The following is a fan-based story. Akame ga Kill! is owned by White Fox, Square Enix, Sentai Filmworks, Tetsuya Tashiro and Takahiro. While Fate/Stay Night is owned by** **Kadokawa Shoten, Tokyopop, Hanabee, Aniplex of America, MVM Films, Ufotable, and Type-Moon. Please support the official release.**

 **Chapter 1: Save the Damned**

 _Imperial Year 1024_

On a road in the countryside, with the Imperial Capital visible far off in the distance, a single horse was pulling a small merchant's wagon along, with two men sitting at the front, one of whom was holding the reins.

A short distance in front of the wagon, part of the road began to crack and bulge outward as something underneath struggled to emerge. Now, one might think that people would notice something so obvious as a bump spontaneously appearing in the middle of the road, especially when it was happening right in front of them. But the simple fact was that these men had been on the road without seeing anyone else aside from each other, their horse, and the occasional bird or squirrel.

Long story short: these men were bored out of their skulls, and as a result they were ignoring their surroundings to the point that they'd completely missed what would have been obvious to anyone paying attention to what was going on right in front of them.

Little did these two merchants realize though, their day was about to get a lot more exciting. And that excitement was in the form of a Class-1 Danger Beast bursting out of the ground.

"A-A-An earth dragon!" the driver stuttered, too terrified to even notice his horse breaking out of its harness and running away as fast as it could.

"What's one doing so close to the highway?!" his friend wondered, both of them staring up at the massive creature, frozen in fear. It was only when the Danger Beast let out a monstrous roar that they snapped out of their stupor.

"Run!" the driver screamed, but it was pointless; even if they'd started running the instant the Danger Beast had appeared, it was impossible for either of these men to outrun it. There was nothing either of them could do to change their fate as the earth dragon lunged at the two merchants, intent on devouring them both.

However just because these two men couldn't do anything about their situation, that didn't necessarily mean that no one could…

When the monster's howl was suddenly cut off, and shortly followed by a thundering crash, the merchants, confused as to why they weren't being eaten, chanced a look behind them, and were met with the sight of the earth dragon having fallen backward, dead.

"What… just happened?"

The other man shook his head. "I have absolutely no idea."

They both took a quick look around to see if some sort of saviour was responsible, but all they could see were each other, their wagon, a dead earth dragon, and a bunch of trees.

"You think maybe it had a… heart attack? Or a brain aneurism?" the driver wondered.

His friend scoffed. "Since when have you ever heard of a Danger Beast having a fucking brain aneurism?"

"Well _pardon me_ for taking an educated guess," the first man snapped. "And just how do you know those monsters don't get aneurisms or heart attacks, Mr. Danger Beast Expert?"

"I don't," the second man freely admitted. "But you don't see me just jumping to random conclusions as to why that thing just suddenly keeled over like that. Oh and by the way, educated? Seriously?"

"Okay then smart guy, how do _you_ think it died?"

The second merchant shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe taking a closer look at the body will tell us." He then started walking toward it, speaking to his friend over his shoulder as he did so. "I'll see what I can find out from ugly over there. In the meantime, see if you can find our horse. I'd rather not have to push our goods by hand until we can buy a new one. In fact I don't wanna have to buy a new horse at all."

"Yeah, yeah," the first merchant muttered, turning around and calling out for their beast of burden. He kept this up for a little over a minute before he realized something. _Wait a minute, that jerk gave me the harder job!_

Said jerk was currently walking around the earth dragon's colossal corpse, keeping an eye out for anything that might give him a clue as to what had killed it. It was only when he came around to its head that he finally came across something: a large puddle of blood pooling on the ground around its head.

With one part of the mystery solved, the man then scrambled onto the Danger Beast's arm, and slowly clambered his way up the corpse until he was standing atop the creature's face, whereupon he found another part of the answer.

There was a hole in its forehead.

"You lazy son of a bitch!" Confused, he turned to see his partner marching toward him, who looked rather pissed for some reason. "Leaving me to look for our horse by myself while you go play coroner! Well nice try, but we can do that _after_ you help me find that mare."

Oh, that was why.

"Dude, chill out. I think I found out what killed this thing."

The driver blinked at that, his curiosity winning over his frustration. "Oh yeah? Well don't keep me in suspense, man, spit it out."

"Looks like someone shot it in the head, probably with some kind of high powered rifle, or something with enough punch behind it to pierce this guy's thick skull. And from how the blood's pooling from beneath, I'm guessing that the bullet was able to penetrate all the way through and out the other side."

That earned a whistle from the man still on the ground. "Damn."

"Yep," his partner nodded as he jumped back down. "I'd say something like a bullet to the brain would definitely be enough to ruin this big boy's day."

"Yeah, well, that's interesting and all, but right now we need to go find our horse and then get the hell out of here. After this little bit of excitement, I'd personally like to get to the nearest town as soon as possible."

"That seems like a good idea to me."

And so with that being said, the two merchants began to look for their missing mare. But the entire time they did so, there was a question on both their minds, a question that would continue to gnaw away at them both every time they would remember this incident.

Who had saved them?

* * *

 _The Imperial Capital_

Several hours later, as it was getting dark, a man who had yet to reach his twentieth year, covered in a white cloak with a supply bag slung over his shoulder, stepped through the gates of the Capital for the first time in his life. He felt rather good about today; he'd saved a pair of men traveling on the road from being eaten by an earth dragon, and after that, he gave some of the coin he had on him to a church run by the Path of Peace that ran an orphanage in a town just a short ways outside the city's walls, as well as cooked a lavish dinner for all the children as well as the priest and two nuns who looked after said orphanage. The man himself wasn't a follower of the new religion that was making waves throughout the Empire; in fact he'd never really been all that big on faith in general. But that didn't stop him from appreciating the good that churches such as the one he'd just visited did, so he was glad to help.

The priest at the church had been insistent on doing something to repay him for his generosity, so he'd taken the opportunity to have a bath and get himself cleaned up, as well as allow them to give him some dried food in addition to refilling his waterskin. When they'd asked him for his name, his answer had been the same as it had been every other time he'd been asked that sort of question over the last seven years.

"Just a simple archer."

As the archer began trekking through the Capital's streets, he made sure to keep his guard up, as he always did. Big cities such as this were notorious for being dangerous at night, and in the Capital that rule applied tenfold; so unsurprisingly people in this city rarely ventured out when it was dark unless they were armed or in groups. Preferably both.

In fact, the only other people that the traveller could see were the occasional guards, always with at least one partner to watch their backs. He had to give the captain of the Imperial Guard at least a little credit for being smart enough to assign all his men a partner. However the dozen or so guards he'd seen so far were far too amateurish in their behaviour for his liking. Sure they were all careful to always keep one of their comrades in their line of sight, which was good, but they seemed to be paying more attention to each other than their surroundings. It was as if these so-called soldiers were afraid that if they took their eyes off their partner for one second, they would disappear, leaving them alone to be swallowed up by the darkness.

Furthermore, none of the guards ever strayed more than a few meters from any of the street lamps, guaranteeing that none of them would have very good night vision for the duration of their watch. Of course the archer fully realized that the dark could be terrifying, especially to the inexperienced, but honestly, that was why soldiers went through training!

After several more minutes of walking, he noticed a couple of armed shady-looking characters hanging around the corner of an alley, the skinnier one grinning maliciously when he caught sight of the hooded wanderer, thinking he couldn't see them. The young archer didn't even bother stopping to deal with the muggers, instead he merely shifted his cloak as he passed them, giving the pair of thugs a glimpse at his well-muscled frame and the weapons he carried, along with giving them a brief yet intense glare out of the corner of his eye. He was rewarded with the fat member of the pair actually flinching and warily taking a step back before he and his friend slunk back into the shadows.

As he continued walking, the archer noticed that many of the buildings around him had become shops and restaurants – all closed now of course – so it seemed that he'd found his way to one of the city's commercial districts. That worked out well for him, as that meant there had to be an inn somewhere nearby as well, but he stopped as he remembered how little money he actually had. Should he use it to spend the night in a warm bed, or just tough it out as he had for so long and save the coin for something important?

Before the nomadic archer could come to a decision, his sharp hearing picked up the sound of a horse pulling a wagon.

However he was no threat to the wagon, and as a result didn't consider them a threat to him, and quickly returned to deciding whether he'd spend the night in a bed or not. Going over how much food and water he had again in his mind, the traveller figured that his current supplies should last him for another five days – a week if it was rationed properly – so he was reasonably certain that he could afford to spend at least one night sleeping on something soft. Plus it would be a shame to get his clothes dirtied from sleeping on the ground again right after they had been cleaned.

As he started walking again, he noticed the wagon he'd heard earlier round the corner, and saw that it was actually a carriage – one that looked like it belonged to a noble. Well, that would certainly explain the fact that both the driver and navigator were well armed and armoured. Not wanting to risk getting caught up in an unnecessary confrontation with some conceited highborn, the archer politely stepped out of the carriage's way. As he passed it though, a young voice rang out.

"Stop!"

Both the horse and the archer halted in their tracks, the latter turning to face the stagecoach, where he saw the one guard who was without a full-face helmet glancing back at him while he spoke to the young noble inside.

"Are we really doing this again, milady?" the guard asked, looking at the archer with his voice and eyes both filled with exasperation as well as a hint of… pity?

"You know I can't help it!" the noble girl inside responded, slightly indignant at being questioned by her own bodyguard as the other one opened the door for her. "This is simply the way I am." She then exited her carriage, allowing the nomadic archer to get a clear look at her.

As her voice indicated, she was young, probably thirteen or fourteen at most, and seemed like she would grow up into a real beauty. This privileged girl also had flowing blonde hair that reached just past her shoulders, as well as bright blue round eyes that shone with the eagerness often seen in youth when they were happy or excited. As for clothing, she had a white shirt underneath a light blue dress with a black midsection, expensive boots made from white leather, all topped off by a bow around her neck and a fluffy hair accessory, both of them the same colour as her dress.

The girl gave a small smile as she skipped over to the hooded stranger she'd just encountered. "Umm, excuse me," she said while giving the man a soft smile. "I don't usually see a lot of people outside this late at night, plus you look like you're not from the Capital. Would I be correct in assuming that you don't have a place to stay tonight?"

The cloaked man nodded in confirmation, wearing a courteous smile as he did so, though the hood concealed the top half of his face. "I admit, I arrived in the Capital less than an hour ago, and was in the process of searching for an inn before you came along."

"Well in that case," the girl said, visibly perking up, "why don't you come and spend the night at my place?"

The young archer considered her words briefly before saying "Before I accept, young lady, you should know that it is highly unlikely that I will be able to give you proper recompense for your hospitality."

The young lady giggled at his words. "Oh please, that's hardly an issue."

At that moment, the guard whose face was visible chose to step forward to add his two coppers to the conversation. "Lady Aria has a bit of a weakness for helping those in need." he explained.

"You really should accept her generosity." his helmeted partner called out.

"Pretty please?" the girl now identified as Aria said, blinking up at the wanderer with those big blue eyes of hers.

Allowing his face to relax, the travelling archer brought up his left hand to comb it back through his hair into his preferred style, removing his hood in the process and revealing his handsome face to the girl. Said handsome face was further decorated by tanned skin, hair that was pure white, and eyes seemingly made of steel. All this served to give the nineteen year old male a very exotic look as he offered Aria a disarming smile.

"Well, far be it for me to reject the kindness of a lovely young lady such as yourself." He then figured that since the girl was a noble, it wouldn't hurt to add on a bit of theatrics, and so brought his right hand up against his heart with his left arm splayed out to the side, and bowed at the waist. "I will be in your care, Lady Aria."

He made sure to keep his head bowed, but he still easily caught a glance of the girl's cheeks blushing before she quickly shook her head. "Ah- yes! Wonderful!" Turning around, she skipped back to her carriage, she hurriedly added "Come on! I want to get home quick so I can introduce you to my parents!"

* * *

The ride back to Aria's home was both pleasant and uneventful, with the young lady happily chatting with the handsome stranger she'd just met. She was so excited that by the time they made it through the gate leading to her family's mansion, she was practically jumping up and down in her seat, and she barely even waited for the guards to open the door for her. The young man followed closely behind, his long legs allowing him to easily keep up with her quick pace.

"Now listen, my dad's an earl," Aria warned her guest as they made their way to the main living room. "So no matter what, remember to be on your best behaviour!"

As the pair arrived at their destination, the archer was greeted by the pleasant feeling of a warm fire, along with the sight of a beautiful blonde haired woman wearing a delicate white dress who seemed to be the spitting image of Aria, only in her early thirties, who had been preoccupied with reading a book until they entered the room. To her left was a rather portly man with a full head of grey hair accompanied by a moustache, who was nursing an expensive-looking pipe.

The man, no doubt Aria's father, glanced in their direction as the doors opened, a smile coming to his lips as his daughter walked in, though when the archer entered his field of view his eyes lit up in surprise.

"Oh, now what's this?" he asked. "Has my dear little Aria brought home another guest?"

"My my, how many does that make now?" her mother added with a smile. "What a habit our daughter has."

"Ahem," the girl cleared her throat so as to distract her parents from their banter. "Mom, Dad, I'd like to introduce my guest. This is… ehm…" The girl began to blush furiously as she realized she had no idea what her guest's name was, so eager had she been to invite him into her home.

Fortunately for her, the man in question stepped forward. "A pleasure to meet you sir, madam. I just arrived in the Capital and your daughter was kind enough to offer me a place to rest my head for the time being."

The father chuckled. "Well that certainly sounds like my Aria. My name is Maxwell Kalrenn and this lovely lady is my wife Valria. Now then, what should I call you? It seems that my daughter was so eager to have you over that she forgot to even ask you your name." His teasing earned him a pout from Aria.

"I'm afraid I don't really have a name to give you," the guest replied, causing the family to blink in surprise. "But if you wish to call me something, I suppose 'Archer' will suffice, seeing as that word is the best summarization of what I am."

"Wait," Aria said, eyes slowly widening. "You don't mean _the_ Archer, do you? The famous Danger Beast slayer and bounty hunter?"

"Hmm?" This time it was Archer's turn to be surprised. "I knew I had a bit of a reputation, but I didn't think it had reached the ears of the nobility in the Capital."

"Are you kidding?!" Aria nearly screamed. "People all over the Empire talk about the Archer! They say he's killed ten thousand Danger Beasts by himself, including a dozen Super class ones! That was all you?!"

"Aria, please, where are your manners?" her father interjected. "Let our guest at least have a seat before you interrogate him."

Archer sat himself at the chair across from Earl Kalrenn, while Aria sat beside her mother, at which point the head of the household spoke again. "Now that we're all comfortable, please continue, Archer. I must admit, I'm rather interested myself. Did you really do all those things that the people say you did?"

Archer put on what could be called a half-smile. "Well, I'm not sure exactly how many of those monsters I've killed, seeing as I don't really keep track. If I had to guess though, I'd say my kill count has been greatly exaggerated. After all, I certainly haven't slain a dozen Super class ones." Aria seemed disappointed at that admission, and would have voiced it had he not continued. "I've only killed two. Danger Beasts of that calibre are rather rare and difficult to come by, thankfully."

"Even if the number was exaggerated, for anyone to have slain even one Super class Danger Beasts, let alone multiple ones, by themselves is quite impressive." Valria commented. "I've heard that those creatures have been capable of single-handedly decimating entire fortresses and small armies. Now tell me, what brings you to the Capital? Have you come to compete in the Tournament of the Archer?"

"The what?"

"You don't know?" Valria said, surprised. "The occasion consists of competitions in various martial arts with the main event being a bracket-system tournament. Varying amounts of prize money are offered to all the winners and some of the runner-ups. It attracts warriors from across the Empire and even some from beyond its borders, and those who perform well are sometimes offered a place in the military. Supposedly though, the whole thing began when some of the Empire's generals took notice of your accomplishments, and wished to have you serve the Empire in a more official capacity. But when they failed to track you down, they set up the tournament hoping it would attract you to them instead. This coming tournament will be the third one in as many years that they've been searching for you, Archer. I hear that there's quite the reward waiting for you if you even show up to the tournament to thank you for your brave contributions to the Empire, provided of course that you can prove you really are _the_ Archer."

"I see," the bowman muttered as he placed his elbows on the armrest. "Well, thank you for telling me about the tournament, Lady Kalrenn. I'll be sure to be out of the Capital while that's going on."

When that statement earned him looks of confusion, he elaborated. "I've never particularly enjoyed crowds, and I enjoy being the centre of attention even less. So if at all possible, I think I'll avoid the event entirely. If those in your government wish to meet with me, I'll see if I can manage something. Though in the interest of avoiding the public's eye as much as possible, I'll probably wait until after the tournament is finished."

Maxwell blinked twice before letting out a lighthearted chuckle. "Well this is certainly turning out to be a surprising evening. My daughter brings home something of a legend in the making, and I find out he's unexpectedly modest in addition to being polite."

"Before I became Archer, I grew up in a rather prominent family." the bowman explained. "I may have been young when I left my home, but I was still old enough to have learned proper courtesy."

"Huh?" Aria gaped at him. "But if you had a good life, why would you leave it? Was your family mean to you or something?"

"I have nothing but good memories of the time I spent with my old family," Archer replied. "It simply wasn't the life for me. The person you see before you now… that is who I truly am."

Valria smiled, "Well it's certainly nice to meet such a forthright person like yourself, Archer. Please, feel free to stay here for as long as you are comfortable."

"Indeed," her husband added. "But it's getting late now, and my wife and daughter need their beauty sleep. Archer, one of my guards will escort you to one of the guest rooms. Please make yourself comfortable, and know that you are welcome to remain here for as long as you wish."

Archer graciously lowered his head. "You honour me with your generosity, Earl Kalrenn. Rest assured though, once I'm well rested I will be on my way. As much as I enjoy your company, I'm afraid I do have business elsewhere. Besides, I'm sure you have your hands full with all your other guests, let alone your actual responsibilities as an earl."

Aria had a puzzled look at Archer's words. "What do you mean, Archer? We don't have any guests here aside from you."

"…Ah. My mistake, Lady Aria," said the bowman after a brief hesitation. "From what your parents said, it was my understanding that you have brought many others with no place to call home into your family's mansion, and thus assumed that you were hosting a fair number of guests."

"It's fine, it's fine," Maxwell said, waving a hand assuredly. "Anyone could've made the same mistake. I have to say though, I'm a little surprised that the thought of others being here even crossed your mind, Archer." the earl admitted. "Most people that Aria invites over don't even spare a moment's thought to who else we might be hosting."

"When you spend your life hunting monsters and chasing down dangerous criminals, you typically don't last very long if you have no idea how to mind your surroundings." the Danger Beast slayer explained. "Now with your permission, I believe I'll take my leave for the night in that guest room you mentioned, Earl Kalrenn. I've been on the road for longer than I care to admit, and I must confess, I'm looking forward to resting my head on something soft again."

"Of course Archer. We're more than happy to host such a reputable guest like yourself. Please have a pleasant night's rest." the earl replied.

* * *

This place simply didn't feel right to Archer.

The family certainly seemed hospitable enough. In fact they were polite and welcoming to the point where Archer was tempted to say their manners were unmatched.

Nonetheless, he couldn't shake off the feeling that it was all merely an act designed to make him lower his guard. To add to that, just because the family may have been good actors, didn't mean their guards were, and the wandering hero hadn't forgotten the look of pity that Aria's carriage driver had given him on the road earlier that night. Combine that with the fact that he was the Kalrenns' only guest in spite of the fact that they apparently took in people without a bed of their own to rest in all the time in the Imperial Capital of all places, where Archer knew there was no shortage of poverty and strife, and something was definitely off.

He had long heard that the worst monsters in the Empire were the ones that resided within the walls of the Capital. Time to see if the Kalrenns were among them.

Carefully prying open the window so as to not alert the guards, Archer easily hopped down to the grounds below and landed with barely a sound. He quickly found a small flat stone and etched two runes onto it with the purpose of locating death, and sent the rock off to do just that.

Archer didn't have to wait long before his search bore fruit.

Less than thirty seconds after sending out the stone, he felt the magic filling the runes dissipate, their purpose fulfilled, as the rock impacted against the wall of a storehouse located at the back of the Kalrenns' property, concealed from the rest of the city behind tall stone walls.

These obstructing walls presented a stark contrast to the warm, open and welcoming feeling that the frontal view of their mansion provided.

Not wanting to break the doors down as doing so would undoubtedly attract attention, Archer used his Structural Analysis on the lock to the storehouse; and with that information in mind he Traced a small piece of iron before using Alteration to reshape it into a key that would grant him entry.

What he found inside, was a scene taken right out of a nightmare.

Blood, bodies, body parts, filth, and all kinds of instruments of torture could be spotted everywhere the bowman set his hawk-like gaze. There were those who'd had parts of their bodies gouged out hanging from hooks the same way butchers hung cow carcasses. He spotted spiked chairs, torture racks, iron maidens, and breaking wheels, all with decaying corpses still strapped to them, and it was obvious that the victims had died screaming; their agony was etched onto their faces even long after their deaths. The knives and cleavers that had been used to eviscerate, lacerate, dismember, disembowel, or even flay these people all still had blood on them, and Archer even spotted an ice pick that had a rotting eyeball still impaled on the blade.

The worst part of it all for the bowman was the fact that his nature as a Faker – one that created weapons at that – and an Incarnation of the concept _sword_ , forced him to know _everything_ about these devices, from how they were forged to what they had been used for before they'd been left hanging on these racks. If it could be defined as a blade, then Archer understood everything about it to the point that a part of him felt like _he_ had been the one doing all of this. Such was the wretched insight that his abilities granted him in scenarios such as this.

And there was even more to this nightmare than the stories told by the blades – varying amounts of human excrement were smothered over every one of the bodies in this disgusting place. The victims had all been left to fester in their own shit both leading up to their excruciating deaths and even after they had been left to decompose. And even that was assuming that they hadn't already had filth deliberately rubbed into their wounds, either to induce disease or simply to add insult to agony before they were granted the release of death.

Archer then caught movement off to the side, and his head snapped over to see that there were a few poor souls who had still managed to cling to life, held in steel cages. But to the bowman's sorrow, the people in those cages were beyond the point of help. Some cowered in the farthest corner, growling at him, the same way a beaten-down dog whimpers and snarls at the sight of its abusive master. Others simply sat or stood in the same position they had held before he entered, their blank eyes staring at nothing. Dead in every way that mattered. And one woman could even be seen gnawing on one of the feces-coated bones that were left of her cell's previous occupant, muttering something to herself about a glorious feast.

There was no saving these people.

Had Archer been a normal person, the mere sight of this horror would have likely made him throw up, but the insight granted to him by his comprehension of the blades in this torture chamber made him feel, for an instant, as though he had been the one who had wielded them and inflicted all of this meaningless pain. And that instant was powerful enough that Archer briefly considered the idea of throwing himself onto his own blade.

But for better or worse, Archer's past duties as an Enforcer for the Mage's Association and a Counter Guardian for Alaya had long since acclimatized him to this sort of such pointless suffering. And it was for that reason that he gave no physical indication at all of how the sight of this place or the history of its blades affected him.

However, he did make sure to cast those very blades off to the farthest, darkest depths of his inner world, far beyond where even his eyes could see from atop the Hill of Swords, to join the rest of their kind.

He would never call upon those disgusting wastes of steel. Weapons whose only purpose was to be used for something so utterly meaningless.

That was truly the only word that the former Guardian could use to describe what had been done here: meaningless.

There was absolutely no doubt in Archer's mind that the Kalrenns were guilty. He had seen in the way that the knives in this place had been used when he had instinctively sympathized with the experiences of their growth and reproduced the accumulated years – not only were they directly used by the Earl and his family, but their only excuse for all of this was that they enjoyed it. It served no purpose, proved no point, and made no sense. The family of this land simply enjoyed tormenting those less fortunate than themselves.

This family was even worse than the Danger Beasts he regularly hunted. Aggressive as the creatures were, at least when they killed it was either either for food or to protect their territory.

But the Kalrenns? They were just monsters.

"Wh-who…?"

Archer's head snapped over to the left, where he saw a prisoner of this hellhole who, despite all odds, had somehow managed to hold onto his sanity and even still had the strength to stand.

He must have not been in here for very long.

Archer ran to the side of the cage, wanting to assess the condition of the boy who seemed like he was at least a few years younger than even Archer was. But as soon as he came near him, the boy backed up fearfully.

Archer instantly realized what the boy was thinking, and quickly took a couple steps back. "Relax," he told him. "I'm not one of the people who hurt you. I want to help you."

As the kid stared back with a mixture of fear, scepticism, and hope, Archer raked his eyes over the prisoner. He'd obviously endured extensive torture and was covered in filth like all the others, but there was still hope for him. It wouldn't be easy, but if Archer could get him to a doctor soon, the kid might just have a chance of surviving.

"I didn't fully trust the people here when they invited me in, and decided to investigate to see if they were hiding anything nefarious." Archer explained. "Of course, this is far worse than anything I expected."

After a few seconds, the boy seemed to accept that Archer was telling him the truth. His shoulders began to tremble, and then it was followed by laughter.

…At least, until the kid started coughing up blood.

When the boy collapsed on the floor, Archer darted forward and Reinforced his muscles, tearing the door to the cage off its hinges and tossing it aside; not caring for the noise it made when there was an innocent life on the line.

"Hey, stay with me!" Archer told the kid, taking him into his arms. "Just hold on a little longer and I'll get you to a doctor." Not for the first time in this new life of his, the former Guardian cursed his lack of talents in the healing arts.

"…Sorry," the kid whispered. "No… good. These people… they infected me… Diseases… they're incurable."

Archer felt his fingers clench, then had to force them to relax again to avoid causing further pain for the poor kid.

"…Tell me," Archer eventually said, "what is your name?"

"…Ieyasu." came the response. "My name's, Ieyasu."

"Alright then Ieyasu, do you have… any last requests?"

"My friend," with a shaking hand, Ieyasu slowly pointed at the flayed corpse of a young girl with long straight black hair hanging from the ceiling by a pair of meat hooks imbedded deep into her back.

"She never gave in, no matter what," Ieyasu was forced to stop as he coughed up blood again, but he never stopped grinning, "that little bitch… did to her. No matter… how bad it got. So cool…" He then returned his gaze to Archer. "Bury us… somewhere, far away from this place. Sayo and me… together."

Archer's gaze was unflinching. "I will, Ieyasu. I promise."

He then watched as Ieyasu's cheeky grin morphed into a full-fledged smile. Tears of gratitude spilling from his closed eyes.

"Thank you."

Gritting his teeth at the boy's expression, Archer wordlessly Projected a plain dagger. He knew that there was nothing more he could do to help Ieyasu beyond what he'd already done for him; and that at this point prolonging his life merely meant prolonging his suffering, as the disease plaguing him would eventually take its course.

With a quick jab, Archer plunged the dagger in between Ieyasu's ribs and into his heart.

The kid barely felt a thing.

Archer then rested Ieyasu's cooling body flat on the ground, then removed his deceased friend from where she was hanging and placed her body next to his.

"I'll come back for the two of you and fulfill my promise to you soon." Archer swore.

"But as much as I'd like to do that now," he said, his cherished blades Kanshou and Bakuya appearing in his hands as he began walking towards the entrance of the torture shed, where a group of guards who had heard him tear open the door to Ieyasu's cage was assembled on the other side waiting for him to come out.

"There's another bit of business that I have to take care of first."


	2. Chapter 2: Kill The Monsters

**Chapter 2: Kill The Monsters**

Archer looked at the guardsmen who surrounded him. To start, there were a dozen men holding tower shields serving as the first line of defense, no doubt armed with swords as well, though he couldn't see whether or not they were still in their sheaths. Then behind the shield-bearers was an equal number of spearmen followed by almost double their number in crossbowmen, loaded and ready, and then four more guards who were aiming rifles.

There were forty-nine in total, all pointing their weapons directly at him.

It amazed Archer just how far weaponry in this world had been developed. He'd seen guns such as those before, and thus he knew that they were capable of firing over twenty rounds before having to reload. Even though such weapons were expensive and difficult enough to produce that most folk – including the vast majority of the Imperial military and even some nobles – preferred to use more traditional arms such as swords and bows, Archer still found it ridiculous that firearms such as those existed in the first place given the state of this civilization.

Then again, weapons such as those existing in a place like this were hardly the most outlandish things he'd ever seen, even if he were to only count his experiences from this current life.

In the centre of the guards' formation, flanked by the rifleman was the one final guard bringing the number up to an even fifty. He was the one who had served as Aria's carriage driver earlier that night, but the bowman quickly deduced that his actual rank was more important than that. The fact that he was the only guard here with his face exposed, along with his prominent – or in Archer's mind, exposed – position, identified him as the captain of the Kalrenns' personal guard. His arms distinguished him from the rest as well, wielding a kite shield emblazoned with the noble family's sigil and a longsword that was a bit too ornate for a rank-and-file soldier to carry.

"Archer," the captain muttered as his men all stared at the bowman, ready to kill him as soon as their commander gave the word. "I'm afraid that we can't allow you to leave the premises now that you've seen what's in there."

"Tell me," Archer managed to say in spite of his clenched jaw as his grip on the Married Blades in his hand tightened. "How is it that you are all able to even stomach this insanity, let alone help those disgusting wastes of flesh commit it?"

In truth though, the former Guardian knew full well that these guards had done far more than merely stomach or support in the Kalrenns' madness; they had actively taken part in it.

Every one of these men had, at some point, held at least one of the instruments of pain in that wretched excuse for a storehouse, and used it to torture at least three people to death.

From what he'd been able to discern from the blades' history, it had been part of the guards' initiation. And furthermore, they were required to so again at least once every three years, to prove that they remained loyal.

The few who had not been able to do so had later become victims of those same tools.

The captain grimaced at Archer's words, and the wandering hero could see shame in many of the other guardsmen's eyes. Until eventually the captain declared, "Because in the Capital, one either abides by the system that is currently in place, or is consumed by it."

Archer sighed at the response, but not out of contempt or disappointment… not for these men at least. As much as he hated it, the captain's words merely reflected the reality that these people were forced to live in.

"My only target here is the Kalrenns, which is why I'm going to give you all a single chance," Archer declared. "Get out of here, go back to whatever family you have, and leave this wretched city behind; I'll even cover your escape. But if you instead choose to continue to stand by the Kalrenns, I will cut you down without hesitation."

"Don't listen to him, men," the captain shook his head. "You all know full well what his lordship will do to you if you even think about deserting. As for you Archer, while I can respect your bravado, the fact is you're completely surrounded. Surrender now, and I promise I'll give you a quick death instead of capturing you for the earl and his family to have their way with."

Archer narrowed his eyes, then placed his two blades on a holster he had on his back for when he needed to put the blades away while concealing his magic. The captain let a surprised look take over his face, having not expected that the young wanderer would actually listen to him. He silently pondered what to say, only for Archer to open his mouth.

"Anyone who's still holding a weapon by the time your captain here hits the ground, will join him."

The captain scowled. "Kill him!"

Every guard carrying a ranged weapon fired their ammunition, but Archer had moved before the Captain even shouted his orders. He jumped completely over the line of men to his right, and while in midair he brought out his bow and nocked an arrow before even reaching the apex of his jump.

The guards who had been able to see him avoid their crossbows didn't even have a full second to stare in awe before the bowman sighted his target, pulled back the string, and then loosed the arrow right into the centre of their captain's forehead.

Archer spun through the air to land on his feet, returning his bow to its resting place as he did so. As the wanderer's feet hit the ground he took a moment to survey the men who had just tried to kill him.

Beyond the line of men, he heard the metallic clang of the captain's body collapsing to the earth.

Every one of the guards was standing in the same position as they'd been before attacking him. Still armed.

Within the depths of his heart, Archer felt a deep pang of regret. But to the world his eyes merely hardened as he once again brought out Kanshou and Bakuya.

The crossbowmen had all just released their bolts and couldn't reload nearly fast enough, while the spearmen suddenly found themselves encumbered by their allies and were unable to turn around and point their weapons in the direction needed. As for the men carrying the heavy tower shields, the massive slabs of steel now only served to weigh them down.

The battle plan now in tatters and their captain dead, the guards quickly dissolved into an uncoordinated mess. Six of the crossbowmen fell to Archer's blades before they wizened up and abandoned their current weapons in order to reach for their swords, with another two dying before they could even draw them. As for the guards who were not in immediate range of the young yet undeniably lethal swordsman, they were busy trying to decide what to do next. The two officers still in the group – the lieutenant and sergeant-at-arms – tried to shout for order, telling their men to reposition themselves and to get their formation back, but amidst the panic and the clashes of steel less than a quarter of those still alive heard them.

As for Archer, he had become a whirlwind of blood and blades as he raced across the grounds, dealing out death left and right. Only after an additional eight men had fallen to him did he suddenly break off, running into the trees that were part of the earl's gardens. By this point the two officers were starting to rally their men again, only for two arrows to come streaking out of the darkness simultaneously, ending their lives in the exact same manner at their captain.

With all of their figures of authority on the battlefield along with over a third of their number now dead, the remaining guards were absolutely terrified. It hadn't even been a full minute, yet one combatant had reduced them to _this_?

The men didn't exactly have time to ponder their situation though, as their thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like something spinning through the air towards them. One man with a torch held it up to try and make out whatever the source of that sound was, only for the torch to be extinguished by a spray of his own blood. Six men behind him shared his fate as a razor sharp black disc carved a gruesome path through their ranks before it emerged from the crowd and continued onward, only stopping as a familiar figure stepped out from the darkness, and caught it in his left hand.

The remaining guards turned as one to see Archer as he swung the black blade to clear most of the blood off of it.

Half down, half to go.

* * *

Archer fired his sixteenth arrow for the night into the back of a retreating figure. He wished he could say that was the end of the battle right there, but he wasn't done yet.

He forced himself to advance toward the last remaining guard, a man who was already on the ground bleeding severely from his arm and chest from when Archer had thrown Bakuya at him and his comrades. All he was capable to doing was attempting to crawl backward with his one good arm as he whimpered for his life.

He was helpless, and Archer was going to kill him.

"P…please," the man begged as his arm collapsed from exhaustion. "Let me go. I won't cause no trouble fer ye or nothin'. Anyone asks and I'll tell 'em whatever you want me to, I swear!" But as Archer continued to come toward him, blades in hand again, all he could do was cry.

"I only served the earl because I didn't wanna go back to livin' in the slums! Plus it's not like, like I could _leave_ once I knew their secret! They didn't give any of us a choice! _Just let me go_! _Please_!"

But Archer was unrelenting as his right arm blurred, and a red line appeared across the man's throat. Even as he died though, he continued gurgling on his own blood, pleading for some semblance of mercy.

Finally, Archer let out a sigh. ' _I'm sorry, but you had your opportunity, just like they all did.'_ he thought as he turned his gaze toward the forty-nine other corpses strewn across the grounds. _'And there are some things in life, where you just don't get a second chance.'_

"Damn, you do all this yourself, stud?"

Archer's head snapped up and to the left, and he saw a figure crouched on all fours on the roof of the mansion. ' _I didn't hear her at all until she spoke up._ ' He frowned, chastising himself for his negligence. ' _Then again, perhaps she's just that good when she wants to be._ '

Whoever this woman was though, she didn't exactly seem to be the discreet type given how she'd just announced herself to him. Which begged the question, why would she do that, and why was she here in the first place?

But before that, Archer had to determine the level of threat she presented.

She'd thrown away the chance to ambush him, but he couldn't discount the possibility of her attempting a more seductive approach meant to lull him into lowering his guard.

The woman – almost certainly an assassin of some kind, stood up and casually hopped down, making it all the more easy for Archer to evaluate her.

The first thing he took note of was her lion features; her mane-like hair, her long canines, the tail swishing behind her, and of course those clawed hands. A beast-kin then. She had an undeniably beautiful face along with a body that few men would be able to ignore should she so much as pass by them. Combine that with the skimpy, tight black pieces of cloth she wore around her chest and waist, and Archer didn't doubt for a second that this woman was more than happy to take advantage of men's lust for her as she killed them.

It was all too easy for him to imagine her sauntering up to a target, their eyes almost instinctively drawn to either her twin lumps of heavenly flesh barely hidden by a single piece of fabric on her chest or her admittedly shapely rear, only to find a knife that could be easily concealed in those loose baggy sleeves she wore on her arms and legs stuck in their throat.

Then again, with those claws of hers and the muscles that could very well be hidden underneath said sleeves, she might not even need that much. He'd seen numerous women over the course of his existence that went into battle scantily clad in order to distract their male enemies with their own desires of the flesh, and it wouldn't surprise him in the slightest if she turned out to have a similar fighting style.

Of course when he noticed her belt, his opinion regarding the threat she might present could do nothing except skyrocket.

 _The King of Beasts: Lionelle_

One of the forty-eight Imperial Arms, forged through alchemy using a combination of the remnants of slain Super Class Danger Beasts along with a rare, legendary ore called orichalcum on the orders of the first emperor himself. A Teigu.

Weapons that could only be wielded by the mightiest of warriors and had the potential to turn the tides of battles that decided the course of history. The closest things to Noble Phantasms he had seen in this new life.

Since their initial construction more than a thousand years ago, less than half of these weapons were still accounted for by the Empire today, with many having been either destroyed or gone missing over the course of the Empire's history.

And this woman had one.

Archer wasted no time in Structurally Analyzing the weapon she wore, delving into its history.

He saw that it had been forged from the essence a massive lion-like Danger Beast and bound together with orichalcum. The Danger Beast itself had been one that could devour seemingly anything. It had consumed men even if they were still wearing their armour, gobbled up meat without caring whether or not it was spoiled or even poisoned, and instead used all of this to nurture its growing strength.

Furthermore that ancient creature had even possessed the ability to regenerate. While it could not regrow severed limbs, it was enough to ensure that injuries that would normally have proven fatal would instead close up in a matter of minutes.

And of course the monster had proven itself to be a peerless hunter countless times throughout its life, possessing astounding senses that it used to track whatever prey caught its fancy, and the strength and speed to match.

To say the least, killing such a creature had proven to be a monumental task. When battling the men who had been tasked with slaying it, the monster had even bitten off the ends of the soldiers' weapons and used what little nourishment it had – somehow – been able to extract from the metal to fuel its regeneration.

And now as a Teigu in the form of a belt, this woman wearing it possessed the same abilities as that beast.

All this took place before the mysterious woman had even taken her first step toward Archer. But as she did so, Archer immediately raised his Married Blades into a ready stance.

"Whoa hey there! Easy now," she said while raising her hands. But Archer wasn't going to let a pretty face fool him into letting his guard down, especially not when she was wearing that belt. Even so, he still didn't know for a fact that she was his enemy. A confrontation with her might be unnecessary.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Serious type, are you? Well since you asked my name is Leone. As for why I'm here, rumour has it that the people who own this place are pretty nasty to put it lightly, so I came to check the place out and see if they were true." the now named Leone said while casually crossing her arms behind her head.

Archer's brow furrowed slightly, not having expected such an easy answer from her. ' _Either she's lying and is attempting to trick me into seeing her as a potential ally so she'll have an easier time killing me, or this woman is awfully carefree – especially for an assassin._ '

"So, since I was nice enough to tell you who I am, why not return the favour?"

Since she was keeping her distance for now, Archer lowered his blades, but didn't ease up his grip.

"You can call me Archer."

At that, Archer saw Leone's eyes widen briefly before narrowing as he suddenly had her full attention. He watched her carefully as she gave him a second look, examining him just the way he had with her a minute ago.

White hair

Tan skin

A pair of curved shortswords, one black, the other white

A long black bow fastened to his back

A white cloak and a black armoured vest

Eyes made of steel

Her eyes glanced at all of these, which when combined together matched what people said the Archer looked like. Leone carefully stared at him for another few seconds before her face broke into an easy smile again. "Well Archer, seems like you might actually be as good as the rumours make you out to be."

Archer ignored the compliment. "Assuming you're telling the truth about why you're here and you just happened to show up at this time, the building behind me should hold the answer to your questions regarding this place."

"You don't say?" Leone replied before crouching down and jumping over and past the young man in front of her. Archer made sure to never take his eyes off her as she gracefully landed on her feet and made her way over to the Kalrenns' torture chamber, where she took one look at what lay beyond the doors before making a disgusted sound.

"Yep, that definitely answers that question. No way the boss isn't gonna accept the contract for these pricks when they've got something like this hidden in their closet."

Archer slowly approached the Teigu wielder who had just confessed that she wasn't here simply to satisfy her own curiosity. Someone had sent her. "Who are you working for?"

"Huh?" Leone said as she turned back to him. "Oh, I can't really talk about that kind of stuff. Trade secret and all that. Anyway, I need to go make a-" Leone stopped as she just realized something.

"Hey… the nobles who live here… they're still alive, right?"

"For now."

"Hmm…" Leone turned to eye him again. "So what're you gonna do now?"

"I should think that's rather obvious given what they've done. I intend to kill them, along with anyone who tries to get in my way. Then I'm going to burn this place to the ground."

Leone couldn't help but frown at that. If this Archer dude killed the nobles here, she and her group wouldn't get paid – they couldn't very well accept an assassination request for someone who was already dead after all.

Then again she didn't exactly feel like fighting this guy over something like who got to kill a few assholes. Not only did he clearly not see eye to eye with the Empire's more corrupt officials and was even willing to do something about it, but the guy had basically painted this whole field red while dealing with the mansion's guards before she arrived, and he didn't even look like he'd broken a sweat while doing it! Even if he wasn't really _the_ Archer, he was undoubtedly someone her organization would want to recruit. And if he was, then even more so.

 _Hmm, maybe I can use this as a sort of initiation for him. He obviously knows how to fight, but can he really kill someone in cold blood?_ Though if she was being honest with herself, Leone was already borderline certain that Archer would indeed see his word through – there wasn't a hint of hesitation in those eyes. But even with that, she still wanted to actually see it herself.

As for Archer, he was already making his way inside the mansion…

* * *

Valria Karenn yawned as she made her way down one of the mansion's many hallways to go and retrieve her personal journal from where she remembered last reading it. Normally for such a mundane task, she'd have been more than happy to have one her servants take care of it for her, but she made an exception when it came to her private journal. Not even her lord husband was allowed to touch that little book.

The lady of the house couldn't believe that she'd allowed herself to become so engrossed in her conversation with that vagabond who claimed to be the Archer that she'd forgotten to finish documenting the day' torments for all of her family's other "guests." She had to admit though, he had spoken rather eloquently for some bumpkin who supposedly spent most of his time in the wilds.

Thinking about it though, Valria figured that one way or the other, her family only stood to gain from hosting this Archer character. If he was indeed who he claimed to be, the Kalrenns would no doubt be greatly rewarded for having been the ones to find this warrior after so long. And if he was an imposter, then he would soon come to enjoy the full _experience_ of her family's hospitality.

The sound of approaching footsteps snapped Lady Kalrenn out of her musing though, and she raised her head to met with the unexpected sight of her most recent guest.

She immediately put on the smile she often wore when greeting new people. "Oh, Archer, what are you doing up and about so late at night?"

"It appears that I've become far too used to being surrounded by danger even when I'm trying to rest. I figured that a stroll in the night might help to ease my nerves." was the reply she received. "If I may ask though, why are you awake, Lady Valria? I believe I recall your husband saying you needed your beauty sleep."

Valria let out what could be interpreted as an embarrassed giggle. "Oh, I was just going to grab my journal. I simply cannot rest peacefully until I've written down all the events that take place to bring joy to me and my family each and every day."

"I see. Would this be the journal in question?" Archer asked as he tossed a small book at her.

A surprised Valria fumbled a bit but managed to catch it, and with a glance she was able to confirm that it was indeed her private journal. In that instant, Valria felt several emotions wash through her.

Rage. Shock. Terror. Indignity. Defilement.

Had Archer read it?

She tore her gaze from her precious journal to meet Archer's eyes again, only to find that they were now less than an arm's length away, and brimming with the utmost contempt. As she saw this, Valria also heard a wet ripping sound, and felt a sudden ache in her stomach. On top of that, her entire body was suddenly trembling uncontrollably and feeling rather numb in some areas.

Valria found the look Archer was suddenly giving her to be one she did not like, and looked away to see why her body was now feeling this uncomfortable sensation. She looked down at the red fabric she was garbed in, and brought up her hands to see if she could feel what was wrong with herself.

Except her hands didn't obey her. They were hanging limply by her side. They'd even dropped her beloved journal. She certainly hadn't wanted that. Why wasn't her body doing what she told it to do?

Wait, hadn't she been wearing a white nightgown? And why was there what looked like the hilt of a sword attached to her stomach?

It took what felt like ten minutes to Valria to understand what had happened, but in reality was less than two seconds. She'd been stabbed. Archer had used the white blade he was holding in his right hand to impale her through her stomach.

Finally the pain registered, and Valria Kalrenn attempted to scream. Though whether it was out of horror, agony, disbelief, or some combination thereof would forever remain unknown, as the only thing that came out of her mouth in the final seconds of her life was blood.

* * *

Aria couldn't sleep tonight. She was far too excited about what the future might have in store for her!

Once Archer joined the Imperial military, Aria knew that it would only take a warrior of his calibre a handful of years at most to reach the rank of general. By that time whatever hints of unsophistication and savagery he'd acquired from his time in the outskirts of the Empire would've been groomed out of him, and she herself would be old enough for her father to start seriously considering marriage proposals for her. Archer was only about half a decade older than her after all, and her own father was almost twenty years older than her mother.

It was honestly perfect: Archer was strong, handsome, he would soon become a distinguished defender of the Empire, and to top it all off, if he really was originally from a noble family like he'd said, she wouldn't even have to worry about the prospect of mixing blood with someone inferior!

Of course she was worried that he may not enjoy the same _hobbies_ as she did, given that he had a reputation for helping so many of those worthless peasants whereas she loved nothing more than watching them writhe in agony, but Aria figured that it couldn't hurt if she kept a few secrets. Plus she assumed that his duties would often call him away from the house for extended periods, giving her all the time she could want to indulge in her not-in-the-slightest-guilty pleasures.

Suddenly the door opened, and Aria found herself being forced to re-evaluate her opinion of Archer as he was currently stepping into her bedroom. Honestly, did he have absolutely zero sense of decorum? Entering a maiden's chambers, uninvited, unannounced, at _this_ hour? Maybe he was more of a brute than she'd been led to believe.

Aria sat up so she could properly berate him for this gross violation of her dignity, but stopped when he spoke in a stern yet sorrowful tone.

"Aria, please… tell me you took no pleasure in what happened in the shed out back. Say that you never wanted anything to do with the atrocities that took place in there."

Aria's eyes progressively widened with shock at each word coming out of Archer's mouth. "How… how do you know about that?"

" _Wrong answer._ "

* * *

Earl Maxwell Kalrenn was awoken from his sleep most abruptly when the door to his bedchamber slammed open.

In his sleep-addled mind, he registered the fact that he could not feel his wife's warmth next to him, and thus assumed that she must had stepped out for some reason and was now returning.

Except his beautiful, graceful wife would never do something so uncouth as to slam a door so loudly, not even when she was in her most private moments. Was something wrong? If this was one of his guards, whatever this was about had better be truly urgent or Maxwell would have them strapped onto the wheel. That instrument had always been one of his favourites. Slow. Excruciating. Just the way he liked it.

When he looked over to see who had seen fit to interrupt his sleep though, he slowly recognized the figure as that of his guest Archer.

Archer, who was gripping a black blade in his left hand. A blade pointed at him.

And now the younger man was advancing on him.

"Archer, wha-? Wh-wh-what are you doing?"

The black blade was now raised above the earl's head.

" _Killing monsters._ "

* * *

Archer walked out of mansion's back entrance, having inscribed an _Ansuz_ rune in one of the smaller rooms next to the main hall that would consume the entire building in flames after he'd eliminated the earl.

He stopped as he beheld a familiar figure in front of him.

"Hey! Nice work in there," Leone grinned at him as she now had two large sacks stuffed full of gold slung over her shoulders.

"I see you helped yourself while I was busy in there."

"You know it! Granted I wasn't able to grab everything of value they had, but I'm certainly not gonna complain about what I did get." she chuckled.

Archer remained silent, not caring in the slightest about Leone's thievery. Instead he walked past her toward the torture shack. He heard the jingle of coins as Leone shifted the bags she carried and began to follow him for some reason. "What do you want?" he asked.

"You still look like you're a man on a mission even though you've killed pretty much everyone here. So of course I'm curious about what you're gonna do now."

"You're curious? Am I supposed to believe that's all there is to you following me?"

"What can I say? You're an interesting guy. But hey, no skin off my back if you don't believe me." Leone shrugged.

Deciding that he didn't care about Leone so long as she didn't try to interfere, Archer went back into the small building filled with the corpses of those unfortunate enough to have been lured into the Kalrenns' trap, where he swiftly recovered the carcasses of a young man and woman who had each endured hell. He brought the remains of the two outside before inscribing another _Ansuz_ rune into the walls, then Archer hoisted the two bodies onto a single shoulder.

He heard Leone speak again, although this time there was an uncharacteristically sombre and respectful tone to her voice.

"…Friends of yours?"

Archer shook his head. "No. The girl was dead before I ever laid eyes on her, and I only spoke to the boy once for a few minutes. Even so, I promised that I'd honour his final request, and bury them both together somewhere far away from this terrible place."

Leone remained rooted to the spot, not so much as blinking as she gave Archer a long, measuring stare.

"…I know a good place. It's a little bit of a trek to get there, but it has a good view. And there's no sign of the Capital anywhere you look."

Archer nodded. "I'd appreciate it if you showed it to me."

* * *

Archer stood up just in time to watch the very edge of the sun peak over the horizon as he finished carving the inscription on the admittedly improvised tombstones that Leone had been kind enough to find for the two graves.

 _Ieyasu_

 _He who endured Hell,_

 _yet always bore a smile worthy of Heaven_

 _Sayo_

 _Even when trapped by darkness and despair,_

 _her bravery shined more brightly than any constellation_

Archer sighed. Sayo. Ieyasu. The former had never given her tormentors the satisfaction of hearing her beg no matter what they put her through, while the latter died with an enviable smile on his face. This was really all he knew about the two of them.

But what Archer did know, was their stories. He could guess the stories of everyone he'd found in that chamber of horrors. All of them had been seeking something out there in the great big world that they had just never been able to find in their old lives. They'd dreamed of attaining it since they were children, and after waiting for so long they had finally decided to make that dream a reality.

But it didn't turn out the way they'd wanted. Instead the Kalrenns, and who knew how many like them, chose to crush that dream and then the dreamers themselves simply because doing so gave them some twisted thrill.

Hearing footsteps again, Archer turned to once again be met with the sight of Leone, only this time the woman had a far more human appearance – her animalistic attributes having vanished with Lionel no longer activated.

Seemed that he'd been wrong about her being a beast-kin.

Leone looked at the two graves, the inscriptions on the tombstones, and then finally at Archer.

"Everything you did at that mansion, killing the guards, the family, burning everything down, and burying these two… none of it was for your own sake, was it."

All Archer did was meet her gaze. There was no need for him to confirm what she already knew.

"When I first saw you I could instantly tell that you were a great fighter, and that you've got what it takes to be killer. But you're more than those things." Leone realized. "…You're also a good man."

Leone started to turn away, but stopped halfway into the motion. "Hey, uh… Listen, I know some people, and I honestly think you should come and meet them. It would mean another trek, but you seem like someone who's used to doing a lot of walking as it is. So, wha'dya say? Feel like comin'? I know they'll want to meet you. They're all great people, in case you were wondering."

…

"I suppose I should at least hear you out, seeing that you were kind enough to help me put these two to rest despite having no such obligation."

* * *

 _Was I mistaken about Leone being an assassin?_

This was the single thought coursing through Archer's mind as he stared at their destination. To be fair, it was far out in the wilderness, and a good distance away from any settlements or paths. But all it would take for this location to be compromised was a single person who could've been in the area for… well, any number of reasons really. One look at this place, and it would be pretty damn obvious even to the biggest idiot in the Empire that the location Leone and her acquaintances lived was a secret base.

For whom Archer wasn't quite sure yet, but he had a few good guesses…

Upon entering the hideout, they were greeted by a small woman even younger than Archer, with pink hair fashioned into long pigtails… and an angry glare.

"About time you got back Leone, how long does a simple scouting mission take? And who's the weird guy following you? He'd better not be some useless idiot you grabbed off the streets of the Capital just 'cause you think he's cute or something."

Leone smiled good-naturedly before replying, an action that informed Archer that this was the kind of behaviour he should typically expect from Pinkie.

"Oh don't you worry Mine, once the gang sees what handsome here is made of, I don't think anyone's gonna have any complaints about him joining us."

"So he _is_ a newbie," the newly named Mine growled before shifting her full attention to him. She then proceeded to stare at Archer for exactly one second before turning around. "Unsatisfactory," she declared. "It's obvious from the get-go that he's not cut from the same cloth as the rest of us professionals."

Archer merely raised an eyebrow at the obvious attempt to get a rise out of him. Unfortunately for Mine though, he'd thrown away his pride as a warrior a long time ago.

Which is why he instead turned to Leone. "So when do I meet with the person around here who's opinion actually matters?"

That earned him a laugh from the woman he was speaking to, and a squawk of indignation from the one he'd ignored.

"Very soon, if we're lucky. I'm gonna go give my report to the boss right now; you should be called in not too long after that. In the meantime, you two stay here and play nice with each other." Leone grinned before walking off to another part of the base.

As soon as she was out of sight, Mine walked right up to him and jabbed her finger into his chest. "Listen here you, you may have impressed the bimbo, but don't think that's gonna be enough to make you one of us! My word carries a lot of weight around here I'll have you know, so I'd advise you to start-" Her tirade was cut off when the door slammed open, and a small-framed woman walked in carrying the carcass of a bird-type Danger Beast at least five times her size.

This was a person that Archer recognized immediately. How could he have not, given the seemingly endless number of wanted posters the Empire had for her? The girl may have been young, but she was known to be the most notorious and deadly member of the elite assassination group known as Night Raid that, while unconfirmed, had long been suspected of having ties to the Revolutionary Army that sought to overthrow the current government of the Empire.

Archer remembered the posters stating that this girl, young as she may have been, had been trained since her early childhood to be an elite assassin by the Empire's finest, before going rogue a few years ago. Her body count was said to be in the quadruple-digits, and supposedly she carried a Teigu that could kill with a single touch.

Well, at least he now had confirmation as to who this hideout belonged to.

"Akame?" Mine blinked. "Ah, I see you're back from your morning hunting trip. But why are you bringing that thing inside the base?"

Akame shifted her red eyes over to the one who'd addressed her. "I forgot to grab the spice I wanted to cook it with for my breakfast."

Mine's eye twitched. "So, couldn't you have just put that thing on the spit and _then_ come inside to grab your stupid spice?"

Akame blinked, her face expressionless. "If I left this unguarded, scavengers could have stolen it."

"You'd be leaving it out of your sight for a minute. At most."

Akame continued to stare at her friend, completely silent. After twenty seconds, her eyes shifted to Archer.

"Who are you?"

"Just some newbie who managed to fool Leone into thinking he's got what it takes to be an assassin." Mine interjected, not that Archer cared all that much as he was still deep in thought.

After all, if this place belonged to Night Raid, then that also meant…

* * *

Najenda, the leader of Night Raid sat upon her chair that really functioned as more of a throne as she stared down the operative in front of her.

"Finally back, Leone? Is there a reason you took longer getting back from your mission than I expected, or did you see fit to take a detour so that you could enjoy yourself again?"

Leone smiled, though it was a little forced this time. "Boss, I can personally assure you that the reasons for my being late are completely legitimate this time."

"I'll decide if that's really the case _after_ you explain them to me. Now, your report."

Leone scratched the back of her head. "Right, the report. Okay, so there's the report itself, then a bit of what could be seen as bad news, but also what I call a _lot_ of good news."

Najenda's single eye narrowed. "It was a simple scouting mission to determine whether not Earl Kalrenn and possibly his family needed to be designated as targets for our group. What could possibly have happened during a mere evaluation?"

With that, Leone began to weave her tale. "Okay, so I show up at the house – unspotted as always, mind you – when I hear something happening in the back behind their big mansion. I head up to the roof to get a look at what's happening, and there I see just, _all_ of the guards dead and blood everywhere. And of course, there's the guy who did it all, busy taking care of the last survivor."

Najenda was beginning to look somewhat curious. "One man? Against how many guards?"

"Not sure exactly how many since I don't typically count enemies when they're already dead,"

' _You never count them to begin with, Leone,_ ' Najenda thought. ' _Whenever there's a fight to be had you always just leap right into the centre of combat and go wild._ '

"But we're talking a body count that's easily in the range of being several dozen, and the guy didn't even look like he exerted himself doing it."

If Leone hadn't had her attention before, she did now. There weren't that many combatants who could do something like that with such ease, assuming Leone wasn't exaggerating.

"Did he have a Teigu?"

"Not from what I could tell," Leone shrugged. "Anyway, so I go to say hi to this guy," Najenda wanted to facepalm when her operative admitted to blowing her own cover like that, but she refrained from doing so. "And after introducing myself, the guy says to call him Archer."

"Leone, you do realize that the Tournament of the Archer is barely two months away. Every year, at least a few morons who think they can fool the Imperial officials show up to try to claim the prize that's still waiting for the real one." And after failing the tests that had been put into place to determine whether or not they were the real deal, the copycats were quickly dragged off to the palace's torture chambers to live out the remainder of their days. Assuming they were still alive by that point. Najenda still remembered seeing over two hundred 'Archers' show up to the very first tournament, until a few examples of what fate would await those who failed to live up to the legend had scared away all but the most confident of pretenders. And before long they too had come to regret their own persistence.

"Well if this Archer is also a fake, then I gotta tell you he's a very good fake. Anyway, he was kind enough to point me in the direction of a shed that in reality was a torture chamber, which obviously confirmed that those noble pricks were guilty. … _Buuuuut_ , then Archer goes into their house, 'cause apparently he's gonna kill them himself."

Najenda couldn't stop the left side of her mouth from twitching downward. While this supposed Archer had saved Night Raid the trouble of disposing of those pieces of human trash themselves, it also meant that, from a professional standpoint, they could not accept any form of payment for the job to kill them.

"That being said, you'll be happy to know that while he was busy killing the family, I took the time to rob the place. Brought back quite a bit of gold if I do say so. Good thing I did too, cause that Archer dude set the whole place on fire once he finished up."

Well, that took care of lost funds at least.

"Finally, I'm thinking to myself that there's no way I can afford to let a killer of this dude's calibre slip through my fingers. So I invited him back to the hideout, and luckily I seem to have made a good impression because he agreed! I left him in the main room with Mine, if you want to meet him."

' _It appears that I'll have to have another_ chat _with her regarding proper procedure for an assassin._ ' Najenda thought. Though she had to admit, if this Archer character – she was still sceptical that it was really _the_ Archer – was even half as capable as Leone described, he could prove to be a very effective operative for her cause. Then again if this did turn out to be just another fake who'd come in search of the reward that the Tournament of the Archer offered, Najenda would almost certainly need to have him killed. After all, exposing the hideout of one of the Empire's most elusive and deadly enemies would go a long way to ingratiating himself to those corrupt bastards.

But before any of that could be decided, Najenda needed to judge his worth with her own eyes. "Bring him in, along with the others. If this Archer is going to be joining us, he should meet everyone right away." Plus if she decided he needed killing yet turned out to be dangerous, it was in her best interest to stack the deck in her favour as much as possible.

With an enthusiastic nod, Leone rushed off to gather the rest of Night Raid, along with their possible new recruit.

* * *

Archer was the last person to step into the large meeting room, with several people standing at each of his flanks and a woman seated at a solitary chair at the far end. Every battle instinct implored him to assess each of the threats and plan for contingencies, but the former Counter Guardian found himself incapable of doing any of that. All he could do right now, was stare at the person who's presence demanded his attention.

He really hadn't changed in the slightest from how he used to be. He was still a sentimental fool.

At that moment, Leone apparently saw fit to invade his personal space and start messing up his hair like he was some kid.

"What's gotten into you, Archer? You see a pretty face and you freeze up? In that case, I want to know why you didn't look at _me_ like that the first time we met."

She stepped back and turned to face the rest of her group. "Sorry about that, I promise that he's not usually like… Boss?"

At that the rest of Night Raid looked over to their leader, only to see that Najenda had turned as pale as a ghost the instant Leone had removed her hand from Archer's head.

The whole team was about to erupt into a string of statements that consisted of either concern for their leader or accusations against the new arrival, but were stopped when the latter stepped forward.

For the first time in seven long years, Archer's face shifted into a genuine smile.

"Hey Big Sis. Long time no see."

* * *

 **And that right there is the cliffhanger I will be leaving you all on for the time being. I know, I know, I'm terrible.**

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 **Paragon of Awesomeness**


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